Investing With a 401(k) vs. Index Funds (2024)

Index funds are low-cost mutual funds designed to track the performance of groups of stocks, while401(k) accounts are tax-advantaged retirement accounts many businesses offer to workers. These two investing vehicles provide different benefits that generally complement each other, and both figure in many investors’ strategies. If you’re trying to decide between the two options to put your money in, here are the keys to understanding the pros and cons of each. Consider working with a financial advisor as you create or periodically modify your investment strategy.

401(k) and Index Fund Basics

A 1978 tax law change led to the creation of 401(k)s, and today they are the most popular employer-sponsored retirement account type. Employees who opt to participate in 401(k)s can have contributions automatically deducted from their paychecks, and these plans offer important tax and other benefits for retirement planning.

Don’t confuse 401(k) plans withRoth 401(k) plans. Roth plans are funded with after-tax dollars. Roth 401(k)s have more flexibility than regular 401(k)s because contributions can be withdrawn at any time without penalty or additional taxes. Early withdrawals of earnings may incur taxes and penalties. However, both contributions and earnings can generally be withdrawn tax-free after age 59.5.

The first publicly available index fundwas launched in 1975. Index fund managers seek to match the performance of the overall market, or a list of specific securities, such as an index like the , rather than trying to pick stocks that will outperform the market.

This passive management style leads to less trading and lower costs. Added to other strengths of the approach, this has helped index funds outperform most actively managed funds over the long haul. Today, more money is invested in passive funds (including index funds) than actively managed funds.

401(k) Pros and Cons

Investing in a 401(k) is often deemed to be a no-brainer if your company offers you the option, especially if they offer any kind of company match. This is free money that you wouldn’t have access to otherwise and can speed up your ability to invest for retirement. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of investing in a 401(k).

401(k) Pros

A 401(k) account’s major edge over an index fund is the tax advantage. Contributions to 401(k) accounts are pre-tax. Owners don’t pay taxes on dollars they put in or the earnings from their investment portfolio until they start withdrawing funds.

Another advantage of equal or greater importance for many 401(k) participants is that their employers match the amounts they put into the funds. That is, for every dollar the employee puts in, the employer puts in another dollar. This effectively doubles the amount people can save. Not all employers match, and those that do generally limit matches to a percentage of the employee’s salary.

401(k) Cons

The major downside of a 401(k) is that the owner usually can’t take any money out of the account before age 59.5 without having to pay a 10% penalty, plus any income tax due on the withdrawals. This means 401(k)s are best suited to retirement savings and have limited use for other financial goals, such as emergency funds and saving for a home.

Owners of 401(k)s also have to start making withdrawals called required minimum distributions (RMDs) starting at age 70 1/2. Making these withdrawals can cause tax problems for some retirees, but stiff penalties of 50% of the amount of any RMDs that are not withdrawn ensure compliance.

A 401(k) plan typically also offers a limited selection of investments. Generally, the choices consist of a handful of the index and target-date funds. Most don’t let employees invest in individual stocks and bonds.

The IRS limits the annual contribution to a 401(k) to $22,500 in 2023 ($23,000 in 2024). If employees want to save and invest more, they have to use another vehicle. High fees also diminish the 401(k) appeal. In addition to paying fees charged by mutual funds, 401(k) investors also must pay additional annual charges, often as high as 1.5% of the amount in the account, levied by the 401(k) plan.

Finally, not everyone has access to a 401(k) plan. Many employers, especially smaller businesses, don’t offer the plans.

Index Fund Pros and Cons

Index funds also have a good balance of pros and cons that make them a good fit for the right investor. From the returns being a major benefit to the biggest con of these investments not providing a tax advantage, let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of an index fund.

Index Fund Pros

Index funds’ long track record of superior returns compared to actively managed funds is their primary appeal. They do this, in part, because of the low fees the passive management style enables.

Index funds are also generally well-diversified because they own large numbers of stocks. This can help limit the downside of fund performance during market lows.

Index funds are widely available for anyone to purchase at banks and traditional and online brokerages. There are hundreds of funds, tracking many sectors of the market and assets including bonds and commodities, in addition to stocks. Index funds have no contribution limits, withdrawal restrictions or requirements to withdraw funds.

Index Fund Cons

The primary con of index funds when in comparison to 401(k) plans is the lack of any tax advantage. Fund purchases are made with after-tax dollars and investors pay taxes on any gains in their holdings, just like normal stock investments.

There is also a lack of flexibility in index funds. The fund managers must follow the rules set out to be in sync with the index so there is no room for creativity. This can also lead to a lack of returns in some situations that could have been prevented without those rules.

Bottom Line

For many, if not most, retirement savers the tax advantages and opportunity to have contributions matched trump the low fees and expansive investment options offered by index funds. However, index funds have an important role to play by allowing investors to accumulate funds that can be used for purposes other than retirement. Generally speaking, both index funds and 401(k) plans are recommended as parts of an investor’s strategy.

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